ED RN
Bryan, Texas
CHI Saint Joseph Health

ER RN

Location: Bryan, Texas (Eastern Texas) Contract length: 13 weeks Shift: Days, 12-hour shifts, 36 hours per week

Required Qualifications

• Registered Nurse (RN)
• Required certifications: BLS, ACLS, PALS, TNCC, NIHSS
• Must pass the Advanced Dysrhythmia exam (83%) before signing the contract; three attempts are allowed
• Must have 2 or more years of experience
• Must have worked in a facility with similar patient volume, trauma level, and size
• Pulse must reflect the legal name on a government-issued ID, with no middle initial or middle name
• Copy of driver's license required at submittal to validate legal name
• Must not have been directly employed (full-time, part-time, or PRN) by any affiliated facility in the past year. Candidates employed PRN through outside firms will be considered.

Unit and Assignment

• Unit: ER/ED
• Size: 30 beds, including 2 trauma bays and 24 acute beds
• Trauma and stroke: Level III Trauma; Primary Stroke Center with comprehensive capabilities
• Volume: About 135 patients daily
• Fast track: Yes, called "vertical care"
• Triage: Separate area that funnels into vertical care and acute beds. Travelers may be placed in triage after a period on assignment, once skills are assessed.
• Holding: Intermixed within the ER; ED RNs care for holds
• Psych/seclusion rooms: None; intermixed within the ER
• Patient types: General ER patients, chest pain, pediatrics (10-15%), geriatric altered mental status, trauma (ground-level falls, MVAs, ATVs, assaults with GSW and stabbings), chest tubes, rapid transfusions, intubated patients
• Common drips: Diltiazem, Cardene, Nitro, propofol, fentanyl, levophed
• Ratios (vary by acuity): General acute 1:3-4; Level I trauma 1:1 or 2:1; TNK 1:1 for the first hour; vertical care 1:6-8
• Float scope: Position floats between two campuses in the system, 16 minutes apart. Floating to the other campus is as needed, as a helping hand, without a separate assignment.
• Charge RN: Free-floating; takes assignments as needed and responds to codes and rapid responses on floors

Schedule and Expectations

• Schedule: Hybrid of self-scheduling and block scheduling; the scheduler works with the traveler
• Weekends: Every other weekend
• Holidays: Rotates in with core staff, one major holiday
• Call/standby: None
• Precepting: May be asked to precept as the unit needs
• Call-outs: Strongly discouraged and could lead to termination
• Float status: First to float
• Orientation: 3 shifts in the ER
• Dress code: Navy scrubs; undershirts must be navy; scrub jackets are optional and must be navy

Support Staff and Services

• Patient care techs: Hold four roles (secretary, true tech, first-eyes location help, sitter/mental health advocate). They perform EKGs, wound care, transport, ADLs, and trauma setup.
• Respiratory therapy: Assigned to the ER 24/7; performs ABGs and splits breathing treatments with RNs
• Phlebotomy: Available in the ER 24/7
• X-ray and CT: Available in the ER, with dedicated transport
• Monitoring: RNs monitor their own telemetry
• Security: In-house 24/7, with an off-duty officer in the ER 24/7
• EMR: PulseCheck or Picis
• ED coverage: 1 MD 24/7 plus a second MD 9 AM-2 AM; mid-level (NP or PA) 24/7 with a second mid-level 10 AM-10 PM

Culture

• Good culture and team environment
• Shared governance structure
• Active union (UBC) representation for staff